Certain electronic devices generate heat as they operate, and in some cases this heat has to be removed or dissipated for the device to continue operating properly. Several techniques have been used to cool electronic equipment. Examples include fans, which are used to blow air over electronic equipment. This air serves to convectively cool the electronic equipment with normal ambient air. Other techniques that have been used include liquid cold plates. Liquid cold plates are plates with channels through which liquid flows. The electronic equipment is mounted in contact with a liquid cold plate and the heat generated by the electronic equipment is transferred to the liquid coolant inside the plate. This can provide better cooling than the convective cooling provided by a fan with considerably less flow volume. It can also provide better temperature consistency with less acoustic noise.
Cold plates can be directly affixed to a heat-producing piece of electronic equipment, such as an electronic chip or an insulated gated bipolar transistor (IGBT). It is also possible to use thermal grease or other heat transfer aid between the electronic equipment and the cold plate to improve heat transfer. Typically, the cold plate includes an inlet and an outlet for liquid coolant flow. The liquid coolant absorbs the heat produced by the electronic equipment, and transfers the absorbed heat to the coolant which then flows out of the cold plate. Many cold plates provide cooling with a relatively low flow of liquid coolant. They can provide better temperature consistency than convective cooling, minimal acoustic noise and the cooling power of liquid coolants.
Several factors impact the performance and desirability of cold plates, and different factors are important for different uses. Some important factors include cost of production and ease of producing relatively large quantities. Cooling efficiency should be high, and cold plates should be securely sealed to prevent any leak of liquid coolant onto the electronic equipment being cooled.
In some applications, the coolant may not be particularly clean, which can result in plugging of the cold plate. For example, a cold plate used in an automobile may utilize the anti-freeze liquid for cooling, and the anti-freeze can contain small particulates. In other applications, there may be a phase transfer within a cold plate to help facilitate cooling. It is also possible for a cold plate to be used for heating a component by replacing the coolant with a heating fluid. One primary difference between a coolant and a heating fluid in one phase heat transfer is that the temperature of a coolant is lower than the item being cooled, and the temperature of a heating fluid is higher than the item being cooled.
Many different techniques are used to cool electronic components, and new techniques which provide cooling benefits are desirable.
A method of producing a liquid cooled coldplate comprises forming a tub (manifold) from metal, the tub comprising an inlet port, and outlet port, and a plurality of pockets. The pockets are in fluid communication with the inlet port and outlet port via slots that can be tuned to ensure parallel flow rate in the channels through the pockets. Cooling plates on the surface of the tub are formed by slicing fins into flat metal plates with a tool to form an enhanced surface, where the tool slices into the cooling metal layer to a depth less than the cooling metal layer thickness, and where the slicing step forces sliced material upwards without removing material from the cooling metal layer. The fins are sliced at an angle to form pins which extend beyond an outer surface of the cooling plates. Each cooling plate is installed into a pocket such that the pinned surface is in fluid communication with the pockets, the inlet port, and the outlet port. Electronic components can then be installed on the flat surfaces of the cooling plates.